FRIDAY, TWENTY THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1 Tm 1: 1-2, 12-14 Ps 16: 1-2, 5, 7-8, 11 Lk 6: 39-42
TUNING THE ‘I’ FIRST
The readings today speak clearly about the need for humility and self-awareness, especially when we feel the urge to correct others. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses a vivid and even dramatic image: someone trying to remove a speck from another person’s eye while a log remains in their own. It’s an exaggeration, yes— but a purposeful one that exposes how easily we focus on others’ faults while ignoring our own. We have all experienced this. Perhaps we get irritated with someone’s habits, or we are quick to point out their flaws—but how often do we stop to ask ourselves: Do I struggle with the same thing? Jesus is not forbidding fraternal correction. Rather, He is inviting us to begin with honest self-examination. Before we speak into someone else’s life, we must allow God to examine and transform our own.
The first reading gives us a powerful example of this in St. Paul. He speaks with striking honesty about his past: once a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. Yet Paul does not mention this to wallow in guilt. He recalls it to proclaim the overwhelming mercy of Christ. Paul knows that it was not his own goodness that saved him—it was God’s grace. This awareness keeps him humble and makes him a compassionate leader, not one who corrects from a place of superiority, but from deep gratitude and love. The message is simple yet deeply challenging: real change begins with me. If I want to help others grow in faith or virtue, I must first surrender my own weaknesses to God. Real correction, must flow not from pride or irritation, but from love—genuine, humble, patient love.
Let us ask the Lord today for honest and open hearts—hearts that are willing to be corrected, hearts that see others with mercy, and hearts that always choose the path of humility. “Lord, help me to see myself clearly. Remove what blinds me, so that I may walk in truth and guide others gently—just as You have guided me.”
Response: It is you, O Lord, who are my portion.
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